1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for operating a circuit. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and device that may allow an observant Jew to operate a circuit on the Sabbath or on the Jewish holidays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Observant Jews are prohibited by Halacha (the code of Jewish laws) from performing certain activities on the Sabbath and on the Jewish holidays. One of these prohibited activities is the use of electrical devices.
In Halacha certain mitigating factors may turn a prohibited act into a permitted act or may lessen the degree of violation. For example, it is generally permitted for a person to set into motion an autonomous process before the Sabbath begins that will later perform a prohibited action on the Sabbath itself. From this example, two important principles are learned. Firstly, that starting an autonomous process before the Sabbath or a Jewish holiday begins is permitted even though it causes a prohibited action to be performed later on the Sabbath or holiday itself. Secondly, one is only held liable for actions that one actually performs on the Sabbath or holiday, not the actions performed on one's behalf by an autonomous process or an object which acts automatically. Thus, one may set a timer before the Sabbath to turn on or to turn off lights on the Sabbath. Similarly, one may turn on a dishwasher right before the Sabbath even though it continues to operate on the Sabbath.
Another mitigating factor is whether there is a direct causal link between an initial act and its ultimate result. In other words, if A causes B and B causes C, there may be an indirect causal link between A and C. Another mitigating factor is whether there is a delay between an initial action and its ultimate result. Another mitigating factor is whether a person intends for a final result to occur when committing an initial act. Another mitigating factor is the certainty or probability with which an initial action will lead to its ultimate result.
Although the use of a timer may add a certain degree of flexibility, this is not an ideal solution. One must decide in advance what times the timer will operate the circuit. These times cannot be changed once the Sabbath has begun.
The present invention is directed to a method and device which incorporates one or more mitigating factors thereby allowing an observant Jew to operate a circuit on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays.